Allergies
by crazy novelist-san
Summary: Kiba's sense of smell skyrockets and he develops allergies to match just stepping outside could kill him. Quarantined, cold, and alone Shino tries to warm Kiba up, but is Kiba ready for Shino’s feelings? ShinoKiba, rated for shonenai fluff. ONE-SHOT!


Allergies

Kiba sat up in the pathetic room he'd been locked in for his own health; bringing his knees to his chest, he shook with loneliness. He missed Akamaru.

Akamaru had been taken from him when his sneezing fits had taken a turn for the worst. Almost two months back Kiba noticed that his nose was becoming overly sensitive. And while this was a big help on missions it was a real pain in the neck. The tiniest amount of spices like pepper even miles away would send him sneezing for sometimes hours at a time. Then he started sneezing and coughing nonstop. And the sneezing got worse whenever Akamaru went to rest on his head. When his tissues started turning up blood his mother would not let him ignore the problem anymore.

They went to Godaime, who pronounced that Kiba's sensitivity to smell had skyrocketed and that he had developed allergies that were equally powerful to pollen, mold, animal dander, dust, and even an entire list of things that Kiba couldn't remember. The fact of the matter was that for Kiba's health, until she could identify the cause for his condition, he would have to be quarantined. Strangely enough Shino was able to visit him without Kiba sneezeing him out of the room; and soon no one could see him without a member of the Aburame clan, most usually Shino.

Kiba had thought that all he would need was a pill when he learned that he had something as simple as allergies. But it turned out that that pill would have to be potent enough to subdue his symptoms, and even half that potency would easily be enough to kill him. So there he sat, waiting for Shino to visit him again. Even if Shino's most defining trait was his taciturnity, he was still better company then none at all.

The ventilation system kicked itself into life again; with a lack of something to do he turned to stare at the air vent above his head. He was told that there was the best purifying system in development on the other side of that wall to keep him as comfortable as possible. Kiba didn't like it however; it made the room too cold. He squeezed his legs closer to him, he was so miserable.

The door opened, Shino stepped into the room, Hinata at his heels. Aside from Shino, Hinata was his most frequent visitor. With not much to say as usual, the discussion quickly meandered to how Akamaru was doing. Hinata flushed, "A-Akamaru isn't doing his b-b-best. He misses you. H-He's bitten three ninken and f-f-five shinobi on average each t-time he tries to come see y-you. He's lonely and he misses you."

Kiba flashed a toothy grin that he knew would make Hinata feel better about her depressing news, "That's my Akamaru! You guys aren't too hard on him when he tries to break in here are you?"

Hinata jumped, "N-No! We all underst-stand that the whole thing is hard on b-both of you, they just l-let Akamaru blow off some steam."

At a soft cough from Shino, Hinata jumped and blushed again, "Godaime-sama th-thinks she may have found a p-p-promising treatment. She'll need a bit m-more time but she says that it has at least an 80 ch-chance of working."

Kiba's heart soared and after a moment to digest what Hinata said his face slowly fell. "Treatment? Only 80?"

Hinata shrugged, "I d-don't think there's a cure for allergies, K-Kiba. And it's at least 80 it'll p-probably go up with-th time." Hinata looked unsure of what to do next. She pulled something out of her pocket and laid it on Kiba's bedside table.

"I c-cleaned your hitai-ate and got rid of all the l-lint and stuff. It shouldn't make you s-sneeze now; I thought y-you'd want it."

Kiba thanked her and tried to ignore the itch in his nose, suddenly aware that he was in thin white-blue, hospital pajamas. With nothing else to say Hinata got up and headed for the door, after pausing for a moment more she left. Shino didn't follow her. Kiba's nose continued to itch until he lapsed into a short sneezing fit that eventually turned into coughs. Wiping his nose forlornly he looked at the hitai-ate. "It's the thought that counts in this case I guess. I'll have to ask someone to take it out later. I would, but I'm not supposed to touch that sort of stuff." Kiba mentally shook his head at himself; every time he was left alone with Shino he would start this pointless babbling. He didn't know if it was the silence that made him start talking or what it was, but he did know that Shino just let him do it. Occasionally he even offered a short response to keep him talking. He appreciated it, though he didn't quite know why.

"Hey, Shino? Why is it that I don't sneeze when you're around, when those medic-ninja's come in here sometimes all it takes is their shampoo to set me off, but I've never sneezed once with you or anyone from your family."

"Our insects can also eat many of the micro-organisms that cause allergy symptoms to arise." Kiba sat up in bed, "So all I'd need to do is stick with you and I can get out of this damned room?"

"Outside is a lot different from in this room. There's a filtration system that does most of the work for me. I just pick up what it leaves behind. If we were to try to put you outside with me as the only thing to keep you from your violent sneezing fits it wouldn't work for very long. The insects would eventually get full."

Kiba sat back down; he pulled his knees up to his chest again and buried his face from sight. He was so sick of being outdone by some stupid allergies! He wanted to see Akamaru, he wanted to get out of his cold barren cell and see the sun and green grass again. He never wanted to sneeze again in his life. He felt the bed sink and the warm presence of Shino as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"You're really cold."

"I can't stand wool or linen or heavy cotton, they all make me sneeze and that stupid vent makes it even colder in here. If that hole were big enough for me to get through I'd of escaped from here ages ago."

"I think that's why it is the size it is, Kiba." Shino said turning in the direction of the vent. Kiba laughed and shivered at the same time. "I'm soo cold." Shino leaned over and pulled Kiba flush up against his chest. Kiba's eyes flew open in shock but the warmth was so welcome he didn't follow through on his first impulse to pull away. But it wasn't lost on him how girly he must look pushed up against Shino. On sheer impulse he shifted his weight to move closer to the older boy. Shino didn't seem perturbed; in fact he adjusted his arms to try and warm Kiba as much as possible.

Kiba kept shifting his weight and was now really uncomfortable. He knew that he would be more comfortable if he sat in Shino's lap but that was something that he flatly refused to do. He was not about to do something so blatantly gay. He had his manly pride. Shino, who didn't mind the notion of Kiba sitting in his lap held in a sigh of frustration at his younger teammate's stubbornness. "You warmer now?" he asked. It wasn't the best grammar but it was Shino's principal to never use seven words where three would do. Kiba nodded, fighting the strong impulse to snuggle into the warmth that was Shino and fall asleep, warm for the first time since he was put in this room.

"You comfortable?" Kiba let out a short bark-like laugh, "Not really. My back's twisted in an odd angle." Shino's eyebrow suddenly appeared from behind his dark sunglasses, "Then get comfortable." Kiba pushed away from Shino's chest just enough to look him in the face better; they both wanted him to go back into his original position. "Shino, I'm not sitting on your lap." Shino grabbed Kiba's legs and pulled him into his lap with a quiet, "I don't mind."

Kiba immediately began to struggle against Shino's grip.

"HEY! Let go! This is not funny at all, Shino!" Kiba said trying to wriggle out of the older boy's lap with some visage of his pride left. Shino tightened his hold, "This isn't funny. I'm being serious." He said calmly. Kiba tried to kick him but couldn't at the angle he was in, "What the hell? What's serious about this? Are you seriously trying to freak me out 'cause it's working!"

At this comment Shino instantly released Kiba, but he did so gently, making sure that Kiba was supporting his own weight before completely letting go of him. Kiba took steps away from the other boy on his bed, his feet protesting to the cold floor. His body was just getting used to the pleasant warmth was now sensitive to the cold around him. And so the two teens stared at each other at a total stand off. Kiba began to shiver in spite of himself. The instinctual part of his mind screamed to let Shino hold him if only for the boy's body heat. The part of him that thought too much protested that to do such a thing was wrong and would make their friendship awkward. Kiba just didn't know what to do, he was cold and lonely and unused to being confined. Maybe it was the canine part of him but he always felt more comfortable with at least one other person with him.

"I didn't want to freak you out, I only wanted to help." Shino said quietly, Kiba would have taken another step away from the boy but his feet had finally reached a mutual temperature with the floor. "O-oh, yeah? Even if I wanted to help you I would have misgivings about putting you in my lap." Kiba mentally smacked himself, not only did he sound like Hinata with that stutter but he wasn't exactly telling the truth. He would have misgivings about putting Shino in his lap, but most of them had to do with the fact that Shino was physically bigger then he was. That and his curiosity of what the other boy looked like had branched off to other things that had left him questioning his sexuality; but he knew many people experimented at some point in their lives and still ended up straight, so it was just harmless curiosity.

"Are you so averse?" Shino asked flatly, Kiba couldn't figure out what exactly he was talking about, averse to him? The idea? Being warm? No. Not really. And definitely not. Kiba had no choice but to shake his head. He wasn't going to lie to Shino, he had the strange feeling that Shino would be able to tell if he was lying or not. Shino got up slowly, cautiously. Kiba tensed ever so slightly, Shino's movements got even slower, he walked up to Kiba and wrapped his arms around him ever so gently. He gave Kiba every opportunity to recognize his movements, to push him away, to do anything that would make him more comfortable. Kiba put his hands up to Shino's chest as if he was going to shove him away, Shino continued to move in and encircle the boy in his own arms. Kiba did not push, but he kept his hands there; it was a sign that said, 'As soon as I don't like this I'm getting my personal space back with a vengeance.' Kiba didn't want to push the other boy away, he felt the warmth radiating off him and couldn't, he just couldn't.

Shino's arms squeezed Kiba to him and Kiba was again flush against him, "Are you more comfortable?" Kiba didn't want to answer the simple question. "I'm cold." He said defiantly like a small spoiled child that had been denied their favorite flavor of ice cream and threatened to throw a tantrum. Shino gave a rare laugh, a real one, not some soft chuckle but a loud, low, rich noise that felt like music into the ears of a man who was once deaf. The most beautiful thing ever.

And so they stood there, Shino in a relaxed stance while Kiba stood rigid as a board, his knees locked. Now this isn't advisable, when you lock your knees you actually cut off the blood flow and you can pass out if you don't unlock your knees after a certain amount of time. But of all the things that zoomed around Kiba's head as he stood there, this fact wasn't among them. And so it resulted that Kiba passed out into the arms of Shino. Shino smiled behind the overly large collar of his jacket, he picked up Kiba into his arms bridal style and carried him over to the bed. But when he made to set Kiba down he found he didn't want to, so he stood there and watched the unconscious boy in his arms. He expected Kiba to wake up soon enough and yell at him for putting him in this also embarrassing position. He didn't care, he could play it off that Kiba didn't pass out for very long and he was just putting him into the bed.

But Kiba didn't wake up. He stayed unconscious and therefore he stayed in Shino's arms. Shino wondered if he had simply fallen asleep from fatigue, Kiba often complained of being unable to sleep much with the filtration system kicking in periodically throughout the night and making it too cold for him. But he was pushing his luck pretty far as it was so he decided to put Kiba to bed. He tenderly lowered the boy onto the bed, intent on not waking him up. But Kiba made a grunt of protest and wrapped his arms around Shino's neck. Shino tried in vain to pry the hands off, eventually he had to made a bug clone to get away, Kiba hugged the clone and Shino felt so guilty when he dispelled it. Kiba's arms closed in on empty air and his eyes, still closed, began to water. Rivulets fell down his painted cheeks and Shino didn't have the heart to leave. He brushed away the tears with one hand and Kiba latched on and, again, would not let go. Shino let him this time; he had his insects bring the chair quietly to him so he could sit and wait for Kiba to wake up.

Shino fell asleep next to the bed for a few hours. A medic-ninja opened the door prepared to deal with the whining of the young boy when she stopped and saw the two of them sleeping. She started smiling slightly at the fact that Kiba was not sneezing even with the close proximity of the boy. She looked at Shino, knowing better then to remove his glasses but she thought to herself, 'He must be so uncomfortable, especially with his arm twisted in that angle.' She gently tried to free his arm from Kiba but Kiba's grip steadily tightened to the point that he was straining the fabric of Shino's jacket. With not many other options she coaxed a mostly asleep Shino to climb into the bed with Kiba. She already knew that he would not take off the jacket that hid his face, the Aburame's were such a secretive clan. Shino had no objections to being moved, especially when the still sleeping Kiba wrapped his arms around Shino's middle. The nin gave a small smile and left the room as quietly as possible.

Shino stirred slightly as he realized that the chair he was in was suddenly more comfortable. Then his mind started to speed up a bit when he remembered he was in the bed. Kiba was no longer holding onto his arm but had his arms wrapped around his waist and his face pressed into his chest, Shino's arm had draped itself over Kiba in his sleep. All in all Shino rated this situation a 8.3 out of 10 on the scale of "I am pleased" the only things that upset him ever so slightly was the fact that they were both still clothed and Kiba was still asleep. But nothing a little patience couldn't cure. Shino fidgeted and tried for a more comfortable position. Kiba made a small whine of protest and snuggled further into Shino; Kiba's knee somehow worked it's way between Shino's legs and the rating of "I am pleased" became a 9.5 out of 10.

If only he would wake up, because at this point the possibility of Shino going back to sleep was a snowball's chance in hell.

But Kiba must have been exhausted because even after hours of agonizing, mounting impatience, and Shino drifted on the outskirts of consciousness he didn't wake up. After two more visits from medical ninja, several sneaky pictures taken for blackmail by Kiba's sister Hana, and a few Aburame's as escorts, Kiba began to stir.

He wasn't remotely tired anymore, he wasn't cold anymore either, there was something warm next to him and it felt good. But Kiba was sick of sleeping; he opened his eyes, and saw exactly what kind of position he was in. Jerking himself awake he sat up in bed, he shivered, it was still cold. Shino made a grunt of protest and assumingly woke up himself. "It's cold." He said readjusting his sunglasses. Kiba put as much distance between himself and Shino as possible without falling off the bed. "Why the hell are you in my bed? I remember you saying last time I was conscious that you didn't want to freak me out!" Shino looked at him, "I fell asleep in the chair next to the bed, maybe a nurse or someone put me in here." Shino replied, knowing full well that that was exactly what happened. "Why didn't they wake you up and ask you to go home?" Kiba shot back, not even slightly calmed but the unfazed attitude Shino was taking about this. "You wouldn't let go of my arm." Shino merely pointed out the wrinkle marks on his jacket sleeve, Kiba blushed lightly. "Sorry." He said putting a hand to the back of his head embarrassedly, Shino waved away the apology. "I don't mind."

"Why?" Shino tilted his lead in question, "Why what?"

"Why don't you mind? I sat in your lap, I used you as a hot water bottle, I hugged your waist in my sleep, I'm pretty sure my leg was in a place it shouldn't have been anywhere near, I made it so you had to sit in a chair for hours then be put in my bed. Most people would mind, even a little."

Shino leaned forward, it was plain that even though Kiba couldn't see them, his eyes were boring into Kiba's. "I don't mind." He repeated quietly.

Kiba's mouth flapped open and closed for several minutes. He couldn't think of anything to say, and anything he did think of died on his tongue. He didn't mind? Hell, even Kiba would mind even if it was for his own family, he'd give them a bit of grief, even if it was only to tease. Kiba turned it over and over in his mind, it just made no sense. Unless... unless it was for someone that you loved more then family, that you just wanted to be as close to as possible. Loved more then family…

Me? He loves me?

Any doubts Kiba had were blown away with the force of ten atomic bombs when Shino's lips closed the shrinking distance between them. The kiss was firm and passionate but still chaste. Shino displayed patience that he didn't possess as he gently pressed his lips against Kiba's, words were never his thing so maybe this way he could get his intentions across better. Kiba felt almost as though he was having an out of body experience. He watched from somewhere to the side as Shino kissed him. 'Move Idiot! He loves you enough to put up with anything you can dish out, the least you can do is give him a chance to show his true feelings!' Kiba shouted at himself.

So Kiba, finally surrendered.

When Shino finally felt the tension leave the smaller brunette with a soaring heart he cupped Kiba's cheek in his hand, his other hand found the front of Kiba's pajama top which he grabbed to pull Kiba closer to him. Kiba fell forward, his hands finding Shino's chest, it registered in the back of his mind that his hands liked it there. They kissed passionately for what seemed like a lifetime, until Shino's patience finally ran thin. He knew better then to try for too much on the first time but damnit his hormones would need to be sated too.

Not to misunderstand, Shino didn't just want sex though it would have been a major bonus, he really did love Kiba. The only catch was Kiba was giving all the signs of a too embarrassed, blushing schoolgirl who'd think she was just being used as a warm body to stick it into for the night. And while Shino would never say no to deepening his relationship with Kiba, he would wait.

Kiba; strong, proud Kiba, was being given the chance to let go. For the first time in his life he could be protected, he could just let down all pretences, all worries. It was appealing for someone like him. He hugged Shino to his chest.

"I think I like your company, Shino." Kiba said softly between kisses. Shino smiled just a bit, "I know I love yours."

It was a start. It was better then nothing. It was more then Shino had hoped for, and all he'd ever dreamed of. After all, Kiba was too proud to say "I love you." so soon, especially when he was probably just discovering these feelings and deciding if they were true passion or hormones.

"I'm going to see if I can't get Tsunade to allow Akamaru a visit. We might need at least two of my family members here but--"

Kiba silenced him with a grateful kiss. And after a few precious moments Shino felt a wetness on both of his cheeks. Kiba was crying tears of joy.

His smile got a little bigger, it was definitely a start.


End file.
